Fireplace screen



March 9, 1943. P. ADAMS FIREPLAGE SCREEN Filed Aug. 6, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l March 9, 1943. P. ADAMS FIREPLACE SCREEN Filed Aug. 6, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 9, 1943 2,313,496 FIREPLACE SCREEN Philip Adams,

Adams Company, of Iowa Application August 6,

8 Claims. (Cl.

This invention relates to fireplace curtains of the type adapted to be secured across the opening of a fireplace for the primary purpose of preventing the egress of sparks from the burning fuel.

An important object of the invention is the provision of a fireplace curtain which is secured in the fireplace opening in a novel and improved manner such that it can be quickly and conveniently applied to a fireplace without disturbing the iireplace setting and without the use of special tools or skill.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a curtain which has novel means for iitting the same into fireplace openings of various sizes and shapes such that several stock sizes of curtain structures may be 'caused to fit practically all of the fireplace openings in common use, thereby eliminating the necessity of having the curtains custom made to t the fireplace opening.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a fragmentary face View of a fireplace showing a curtain embodying my invention in place across the opening thereof;

Fig. 2 is a View on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary face view of a fireplace showing a further embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4, and

Fig. 1 is a section on the line l of Fig. 6.

The invention is shown in oneA of its embodiments in Figs. l to 3, Figure l showing the manner in which the curtain is mounted in a fireplace opening, the opening being designated generally by the numeral and having side edges 9 and I I and a top edge I2. Usually these edges of the fireplace opening are formed by masonry, such as brick or stone, and extend rearwardly to provide space for the disposition of the fire. This fact renders it difficult to mount a curtain over the opening, and for this reason it has been common to employ folding screens which rest upon the hearth in front of the opening. This, however, does not commonly give adequate protection from sparks and the like ilying out of the fireplace opening and lodging on carpets and similar combustible material adjacent the fireplace. v TheA curtain comprises two panels I3 and IIi formed of exible metal, such, for instance, as interlinked spiral wires commonly used for flexible curtains of this type and well known in the art, these panels being of such size as to jointly substantially fill the fireplace opening, allowing sufficient fullness for the panels to hang in grace- .ful folds with the outer edges against the sides of the fireplace opening and the inner edges over- Dubuque, Iowa,

Dubuque, Iowa,

assignor to Thea corporation 1941, serial No. 405,688

lapping a short distance in the center as indicated at I5. The upper edges of the panels are `of the rod being attached thereto by provided with a plurality of rings as indicated at I6 which are carried on a rod designated generally by the numeral I1, the rod having a loop as shown at I8 substantially midway between its ends and disposed in a vertical plane, the loop permitting the panels to be brought into overlapping relationship as is apparent from Fig. 2. The ends of 2l which are formed of heavy metal and extend rearwardly into the fireplace opening, the ends means of screws 22 and 23. Also connecting the arms I9 and 2| is a relatively heavy angle iron 24 which is preferably welded to the arms as indicated at 25 and 2B to provide with the arms I9 and 2l a rigid frame structure. Welded or otherwise secured against the front side of the angle iron member 2i is a face plate 21 mental metal, which serves to produce further rigidity in the frame structure, to conceal the angle iron member 2li and to provide an ornamental top bar for the curtain structure. nThreaded into the arms I9 and 2l at spaced points are heavy screws 28 to 3l, each of these screws having a pointed end as shown at 32 disposed outwardly from the arms. and a slotted head as shown at 33. y

The curtain structure is secured in the fireplace opening by turning the screws 28 to 3l un'- til the pointed ends 32 are firmly engaged in the masonry adjacent the upper edge of the fireplace opening with the arms I9 and 2l projecting rearwardly and the panels i3 and Ii depending from the rod I1 substantially iiush with the iront 4oi the fireplace in the manner shown in Figure 1.

When the fireplace that the panels I3 and le can facing Figure l so as edges 9 and II, leaving be drawn sidewise to be gathered along the the front oi' the fireplace open. When the protection against the egress of spar-ks is needed, the panel lli is manually drawn into the position shown in Figure 1, and thereafter the panel I3 is drawn outward so as to overlap the forward edge of the panel It in the area indicated at I5 to thereby give substantial protection against the egress of fire from the fireplace opening.

Referring now to Fig. 4, the form of the invention therein shown overlapping in the area indicated at I5, the panels being supported on the rod I1 by means of rings I6 as in the previous form, the rod having the loop I8 as heretofore described. In this instance, however, the rod I1 is supported at its ends in a U-shaped channel iron indicated generallyl by the numeral 34, the channel iron being closed on thetop and sides. The channel iron is enclosed at its ends by bending downward the centhe rod I1 are secured in arms I9 and K preferably of ornais in service it will`be seenv includes-the panels I3 and Il.

- the sides oi.' said opening jspanning said opening,

tral portion of the channel iron to a point between the sides thereof as best shown in Figs. 5 and 7 to provide end portions 35. the rod I1 being supported on these end portions in recesses 33 by means of screws 31 which pass into the ends oi the rod and abut against the portion 35. 'Ihe back side oi' the channel iron 34 is provided with a series of threaded openings as shown at 33 for the attachment thereto of brackets in-A dicated generally by the numeral 39, the brackets being attached thereto-by means of screws 4I engaging the threaded openings 38. The brackets 39 include vertically disposed bars 42 to the bottom oi' which are welded rearwardly disposed angle iron members 43 analogous to the arms- I9 `and 2| of Fig. 2 and carrying screws 44 and 45 having pointed ends 48 and slotted heads 41 adapted to be engaged in the masonry of the replace in the manner heretofore described. The plurality of openings 38 at each end of the channel iron 34 permits of adjustment of the position of the brackets 39 thereon so as to vary the distance between the two brackets.

It will be seen that I have provided a simple and convenient iireplace curtain arranged to be positioned in the ordinary ireplace without the use of special tools or without the skill normally required to seat metal lugs or other holding means into the masonry o1' the replace. The curtain of suitable size can be properly fastened across the iireplace opening through the use of a screwdriver by turning the screws 28 to 3| out so as to engage the masonry and wedge the frame section firmly into the top of the fireplace opening. .In the form shown in Figs. 4 to 7, inclusive, the curtain structure is adapted for replaces of a wide variety of sizes and shapes, and by changing the position of the brackets 39 on the channel iron members, the structure therein shown can be applied to fireplaces of different widths. It will be seen that in this form of the invention the panels I3 and I4 are disposed in a plane slightly forward of the face of the fireplace, and the channel iron34 is adapted to rest against the iront of the replace opening, as will best be seen from Figs. 4 and 5. Furthermore, because of the bars 42 the elevation of the channel iron member 34 may be varied within substantial limits so as to accommodate for iireplaces that vary in the vertical dimension. Attention is direction to the fact that the bars 42 are substantially concealed in service when the panels I3 and I4 are open, since these panels will gather in the area just forward of these .brackets and thereby effectively conceal the same.

I claim:

1. The combination in a fireplace curtain of a curtain support shaped to span a replace opening at its upper edge, a plurality of curtain panels suspended from said support for sliding movement between a retracted position adjacent and a projected position and means on said support at opposite sides of said opening projecting into said opening for frictionally engaging oppsite sides thereof to compress said support and thereby secure the support in position at the upper edge of said opening.

2. The combination in a replace curtain of a curtain support shaped to span a fireplace opening at its upper edge, a plurality of curtain panels suspended 'from said support for sliding movement between a retracted position adjacent the sides of said opening and a projected A said bar has an the upper edge thereof, support projecting into the fireplace opening, means for securing said` arms to the support at replace opening.

7. The combination recited in claim 6 wherein inverted Ul-shaped cross-section, and said rod is disposed between the sides of said U.

8. The combination recited in claim 6 wherein said bar has an inverted U-shaped cross-section, said rod is disposed between the sides of said U and said arms each comprise a portion projecting horizontally into said opening, projecting vertically in 

